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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Bud, Jimmy John's Will Join Harvick At SHR in 2014

Budweiser remains with Harvick in 2014

When Kevin Harvick leaves
Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
season, he will take major sponsors Budweiser and Jimmy Johns along with him.

Reports surfaced last
week that Harvick will bolt RCR at the conclusion of his current contract to race
full-time for Stewart Haas Racing in 2014. And while neither Harvick, Childress
nor SHR co-owner Tony Stewart have confirmed the move, a spokesman for Stewart admitted
the team would love to sign a driver of Harvick’s caliber, if he were to become
available. Now, multiple sources speaking on the condition of anonymity say that when
the move comes, it will also include the sponsors that backed the No. 29 team in a
combined 26 races this season; 20 for Budweiser and six for Jimmy
John’s.

Budweiser’s parent
company, Anheuser Busch, has traditionally chosen to align itself with individual
drivers, rather than race teams. In the past, Budweiser has backed an all-star
roster of drivers that includes former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions Terry
Labonte, Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott, along with Geoff Bodine, Ken
Schrader, Ricky Craven, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kasey Kahne. In Harvick, sources
say the company believes they have a “man’s man” type of driver who appeals to
the brand’s core demographic group.

As a result, A-B has
reportedly agreed to accompany Harvick when he changes teams at the end of the
2013 campaign. Jimmy John’s has been a NASCAR sponsor since 2007 with Rusty Wallace,
Inc. In 2009, it debuted on the quarter panels of Kevin Harvick, Inc.’s No. 33
Nationwide Series entries. They moved to Harvick’s RCR-owned Sprint Cup Series
Chevrolet when KHI closed its doors at the end of last season.

I disagree with the statement that Anheuser Busch traditionally stays with the driver rather than the team. Budweiser sponsored Junior Johnson's cars for more than a decade (1984-94) for drivers Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Geoff Bodine and Bill Elliott. That doesn't count the years when Cale Yarborough drove the Busch-sponsored car for Junior Johnson in the late 1970s. Budweiser also spent five years at Hendrick Motorsports with Schrader, Craven and Dallenbach. They changed in 2000 and began going with drivers over teams. When Dale Jr. left DEI after 2007, Budweiser went to Kahne and Evernham. When Kahne left the that team, Bud went with Harvick and RCR. This is the first time I can recall Budweiser following a driver to a different team.

Gene Haas knew what he was doing when he agreed to effectively give Tony half of his race team. Harvick bringing over that Budweiser sponsorship is huge. I'd love to know the backstory on why Kevin didn't stay with Childress. Maybe it was just time for a change of scenery, and nobody can say that Kevin didn't reward Richard for his willingness to promote him to take over Dale Sr's slot. Hopefully Kevin can win a Championship for Richard next year. If Kevin finds success at SHR as quickly as Bowyer did at MWR, Richard is going to be eating his heart out. He now has to hire somebody to replace Harvick, as well as consider what to do with Jeff Burton. Paul Menard is now the future of RCR. Paul is a capable driver, but his daddy's sponsorship money has kept him in better rides than his results warrant. Maybe Richard plans to promote Austin to Cup in 2014. Maybe Kevin didn't like the fact that RCR's truck and nationwide programs seemed to be having more success than the cup teams, and didn't want to be part of a team where he would have to wonder if the owner was more interested in seeing his grandkids succeed than his veteran drivers.

Outside of the racing action itself, this sort of finalizes the list of major storylines of the season:

- The rise of MWR and Clint Bowyer - The decline of the RCR cup program, Harvick's win at PIR aside, along with its future as a top tier team being put in jeapordy - What the heck happened to Carl Edwards? Or is he on his usual program of having a winless season and then being in the championship hunt the following year? - Kenseth to Gibbs - Denny Hamlin can't catch a break - Sam Hornish is good enough to be a stand in driver but can't get a full time Cup ride - Joey Logano should have run for Nationwide series points instead

JMO, but I think the writing is on the wall at RCR with the grandsons coming up. They have both proven to be reasonably talented so far and I will follow their continued success, but as a Harvick fan, I'm glad Kevin is moving on. No point becoming second banana to the owners grandkids and SHR is no slouch of a team to join.

I think this is a great move for my hometown boy, Kevin deserves fo finally get away from the company Dale Sr. built. Now maybe he can do what my other hometown boy Rick Mears did with Penske. Build a iconic team alongside Stewart, Newman, and Patrick. I wonder how long though before Stewart-Haas is forced to build their own Engines going away from Hendricks? Man I wouldn't be suprised to hear Stewart-Haas buy Penske's engine shop or is Stewart-Haas the new upcoming ECR engine customers??

Harvick could run the 29, that is if RCR does not want the number anymore. I'd rather see Harvick drive a new number like the #4. Being a Harvick fan myself, Having a new number and new team might be good for him.

Everybody knows RC's #1 priority is the dillon boys now. Its good Harvick is leaving. At least he wont have to take a back seat to the dillon boys. It's so clear that focus has suffered on the Cup side now that so much effort is being put on trying to bring up the dillon boys...

People are leaving that team right and left. You would think someone could see whats going on. But now that Harvick, Budweiser, and JJ's are leaving also they will probly bring the #3 back to try and get sponsors. As Kenny Wallace said "It's all about the money". If they bring back the #3 to try and get sponsors for dillon many fans will no longer support RCR and boycott any sponsors on the car.

why would stewart start buying his motors at ECR ? He gets all of his cars from Hendrick and Haas is good friends with Rick , also do you know the cost of a shop for building motors ?? Penske bailed because the new thing is to build motors and lease them and who was running dodge other than the captain ? none in cup other than robby gordon , none in trucks and nationwide , roush , hendrick and ECR make a ton leasing motors gibbs even got out of the biz , so I think tony is happy being a shell company , low overhead with no fab guys , motor shop etc , they deliver the cars and tony gets them wrapped , gets the engine tuners on race day from hendrick and he's way ahead of the ballgame when he wrecks a car , ole Rick just sends him a new one in primer

when dale died in 2001. i had no driver i watched to watch jr. and i heard this kid was gonna be in dales car numbered 29 so i also watched him too.when he won in atlanta i knew i wanted to be a fan of harvicks. there hasnt been a day since then that i was disappointed in him or hated him. i knew if he wasnt running well it was the car he was driving. ive never gave up on him. i will be a fan of harvick and RCR until the day i die. harvick has been teaching the dillons and its showing with the aggressive edge to being in contention for race wins at the end if there was no mistakes and the car was good. they will both be running for the championship next year maybe even win it. but those cup cars has to get better made better engines. or they look like flukes at the cup stage. harvick will have a good year in 2013 and maybe even better starting in 2014, as long as stewart DOES NOT hire kyle busch hell end his career at SHR and be champion one year. he WILL win at least one cup championship, but well let time write the ending to his story. GO HARVICK TEAM 29. and i hope he takes his number with him i was born on the 29th of january of 92, so i like that number.

Sure would've been nice to see a red Bud 88 car with Jr. at the wheel but I guess that's not happening. Especially now that he might be shopping for some future sponsorship(s) for 12 races this year. Man I miss the #8 Bud car. Can ya tell?